Monday, April 19, 2010
My Birthday Party!
My birthday party was a blast! I spent the evening with family and friends and it was great hanging out with them. Everyone enjoyed the party and the details that came along with it. Here are the photos from my birthday party... enjoy!
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Twilight themed favors
I'm really excited to post this even though I know it's such a spoiler! Honestly, I think it's so much fun to put these together and show everyone what they can bring home.
While searching for ideas for party favors, I wasn't too big on the bite size Twizzlers as a party favor since I'll be serving that as part of my candy buffet. Instead, I decided to go with personalized M&M's (see my earlier post), handmade chess pieces (queen and pawn as shown on the cover of Breaking Dawn), and beauty item to reflect the character, Rosalie. Besides - what girl doesn't love lipgloss?
I also have another beauty item as a favor to my female guests, but I decided to keep that one on the hush hush :)
So for the lipgloss, I didn't want to use a bright red since not all of us look good in that color. Instead, I chose to use NYX's Vamp Red lipgloss (the name is very appropriate with the party theme!) which is a dark burgundy-red. Even if they don't wear this color on a daily basis, they can always save it for Halloween if they dress up as a vamp!
For the packaging, I used a treat bag (Michael's) and just stuffed it with red paper shred (Walmart).
Now the 2nd party favor is the chess pieces. I made these out of chocolate wafers (white for the queen and red for the pawn). I actually flavored them since the chocolates just have vanilla flavoring. For the queen, I chose the cheesecake flavor and for the pawn I used cherry on some and apple on some.
I got the chess piece mold at a local bakery supply store and unfortunately they didn't have it at Michael's. I'm sure you can find it online if you don't have a bakery supply store close to you. For the packaging, I used the same treat bags I used for the lipgloss (the package I got has 100 bags) and again used the same red paper shred. But instead of the silver tie, I used red ribbon I bought at Target during the after-Christmas sales.
Now the last party favor is with the personalized M&M's. The M&M's are personalized with either 'Team Jacob' and 'Team Edward' and they're in red, black, and white. I just stuffed with the same red paper shred just to bulk up the organza bag. I only put a small handful of M&M's inside since there's not much inside the bags they came in.
I was thinking of adding tags and stickers, but I'm still undecided about that. If I do, they will probably be simple tags that say "thank you" to all my guests. I hope that my ideas inspired you!
While searching for ideas for party favors, I wasn't too big on the bite size Twizzlers as a party favor since I'll be serving that as part of my candy buffet. Instead, I decided to go with personalized M&M's (see my earlier post), handmade chess pieces (queen and pawn as shown on the cover of Breaking Dawn), and beauty item to reflect the character, Rosalie. Besides - what girl doesn't love lipgloss?
I also have another beauty item as a favor to my female guests, but I decided to keep that one on the hush hush :)So for the lipgloss, I didn't want to use a bright red since not all of us look good in that color. Instead, I chose to use NYX's Vamp Red lipgloss (the name is very appropriate with the party theme!) which is a dark burgundy-red. Even if they don't wear this color on a daily basis, they can always save it for Halloween if they dress up as a vamp!
For the packaging, I used a treat bag (Michael's) and just stuffed it with red paper shred (Walmart).
Now the 2nd party favor is the chess pieces. I made these out of chocolate wafers (white for the queen and red for the pawn). I actually flavored them since the chocolates just have vanilla flavoring. For the queen, I chose the cheesecake flavor and for the pawn I used cherry on some and apple on some.I got the chess piece mold at a local bakery supply store and unfortunately they didn't have it at Michael's. I'm sure you can find it online if you don't have a bakery supply store close to you. For the packaging, I used the same treat bags I used for the lipgloss (the package I got has 100 bags) and again used the same red paper shred. But instead of the silver tie, I used red ribbon I bought at Target during the after-Christmas sales.
Now the last party favor is with the personalized M&M's. The M&M's are personalized with either 'Team Jacob' and 'Team Edward' and they're in red, black, and white. I just stuffed with the same red paper shred just to bulk up the organza bag. I only put a small handful of M&M's inside since there's not much inside the bags they came in.
I was thinking of adding tags and stickers, but I'm still undecided about that. If I do, they will probably be simple tags that say "thank you" to all my guests. I hope that my ideas inspired you!
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
The Invitations
I was reluctant to post the invitations on here since I didn't want to ruin it for the invitees. I wanted to send the invites to the guests and have them be amazed at what they were holding in their hands.
But since I worked really hard to get this assembled, I couldn't help but post the invitations. The only thing I did not take pictures of are the games and prizes and wanted to keep that information a surprise.
First off, I wanted my invitations to be handmade. This party is really going to be special for me as the theme is based on one of my favorite series of novels. I wanted everything to be very personal. I love almost anything handmade (cards, journals, jewelry and so forth) so that prompted me to send a handmade card.
Etsy.com (an online store for all handmade) had a variety of choices for handmade cards. But being the picky perfectionist that I am, I opted to do the invites myself. I had a vision on how my cards were going to look like and no one would be able to see that vision but myself. To see a larger view of the card, click on the image.
What I did was create a simple card with layers. I absolutely love the damask print and wanted to incorporate that onto my cards. Of course I had to use the official fonts used from Twilight.
I added some rhinestone stickers to the printed foilage that was on the corners. The rhinestone stickers were purchased from Walmart ($2) and they can be found at the scrapbooking section.
I had to include my favorite quote from the book, "So the lion fell in love with the lamb" somewhere on the invite. If I had a folded card, I would've opted to put it on the front. But since I had a flat panel card, I added the first part of the quote on the top left corner and changed the opacity so that it wasn't so bold. The second part of the quote is on the bottom right corner.
On the envelope I added a stamp that features the Cullen crest stamp. I had these custom made. I didn't really like how the ink got onto the block that surrounds the crest, but there's nothing I can really do about it now. It'll just have to suffice :)
If you want to know what I used for the cards, I'll post a separate entry :)
But since I worked really hard to get this assembled, I couldn't help but post the invitations. The only thing I did not take pictures of are the games and prizes and wanted to keep that information a surprise.
First off, I wanted my invitations to be handmade. This party is really going to be special for me as the theme is based on one of my favorite series of novels. I wanted everything to be very personal. I love almost anything handmade (cards, journals, jewelry and so forth) so that prompted me to send a handmade card.
Etsy.com (an online store for all handmade) had a variety of choices for handmade cards. But being the picky perfectionist that I am, I opted to do the invites myself. I had a vision on how my cards were going to look like and no one would be able to see that vision but myself. To see a larger view of the card, click on the image.
What I did was create a simple card with layers. I absolutely love the damask print and wanted to incorporate that onto my cards. Of course I had to use the official fonts used from Twilight.
I added some rhinestone stickers to the printed foilage that was on the corners. The rhinestone stickers were purchased from Walmart ($2) and they can be found at the scrapbooking section.
I had to include my favorite quote from the book, "So the lion fell in love with the lamb" somewhere on the invite. If I had a folded card, I would've opted to put it on the front. But since I had a flat panel card, I added the first part of the quote on the top left corner and changed the opacity so that it wasn't so bold. The second part of the quote is on the bottom right corner.
On the envelope I added a stamp that features the Cullen crest stamp. I had these custom made. I didn't really like how the ink got onto the block that surrounds the crest, but there's nothing I can really do about it now. It'll just have to suffice :)
If you want to know what I used for the cards, I'll post a separate entry :)
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Team Jacob or Team Edward?
Who doesn't love M&M's? I love how the M&M's can be personalized to your liking. I ordered 3 bags and they have 'Team Edward' & 'Team Jacob' on them with regular black M&M's.
These M&M's are for my party favors and will go great with the packaging. They sell the colored M&M's online as well at Michael's for $7 a bag. I happened to find some at Walmart for $4.50 per package. I'm sure that the M&M's I found at Walmart doesn't have the same amount as the ones found in the bag, but that's fine. I wasn't planning to buy a bunch, just needed enough black M&M's for the favors.
I love these and can't wait to see it in the packaging I have for my party favors!
These M&M's are for my party favors and will go great with the packaging. They sell the colored M&M's online as well at Michael's for $7 a bag. I happened to find some at Walmart for $4.50 per package. I'm sure that the M&M's I found at Walmart doesn't have the same amount as the ones found in the bag, but that's fine. I wasn't planning to buy a bunch, just needed enough black M&M's for the favors.
I love these and can't wait to see it in the packaging I have for my party favors!
Sweet tooth!
I'm really excited about the candy buffet for my party as it's the first one I've ever done myself! I've been doing a lot of research online for ideas and what kind of candy to purchase. Unfortunately a lot of black candy consists of black licorice and if I dislike the flavor, I'm sure most of my guests will too.
I've already begun buying glass jars and other materials to decorate them. The first one I did features a glass jar I bought at Walmart ($4) and the jar isn't small, either. I also purchased black satin ribbon (12 feet) for less than $2 also at Walmart.
As for the Hershey's kisses... I took advantage of the fact that Valentine's Day is around the corner. It's a great opportunity to buy a bunch of red candy! At Target they were selling the jumbo bags of Hershey's kisses for $2.50 a bag (they were regularly priced at $6 per bag). I ended up buying 5 bags total. The Valentine mixed consisted of silver, red and pink kisses. I took out the red and silver and kept them separate from the pink ones. I ended up using the pink ones for the class goody bags my 2 children will be giving out on Valentine's Day. So it all worked out!
As for the apple, I created it on photoshop. I created it as a vector image so that it can be easily edited. I created white and black borders around the apple to give it some dimension. I also used the official 'Twilight' font (it's free!) for the name of the candy in the jar.
I also thought writing "Hershey's Kisses" would be boring, so I replaced it with "Vampire Kisses". Very fun! I can't wait until I present the entire buffet here.
I've already begun buying glass jars and other materials to decorate them. The first one I did features a glass jar I bought at Walmart ($4) and the jar isn't small, either. I also purchased black satin ribbon (12 feet) for less than $2 also at Walmart.
As for the Hershey's kisses... I took advantage of the fact that Valentine's Day is around the corner. It's a great opportunity to buy a bunch of red candy! At Target they were selling the jumbo bags of Hershey's kisses for $2.50 a bag (they were regularly priced at $6 per bag). I ended up buying 5 bags total. The Valentine mixed consisted of silver, red and pink kisses. I took out the red and silver and kept them separate from the pink ones. I ended up using the pink ones for the class goody bags my 2 children will be giving out on Valentine's Day. So it all worked out!
As for the apple, I created it on photoshop. I created it as a vector image so that it can be easily edited. I created white and black borders around the apple to give it some dimension. I also used the official 'Twilight' font (it's free!) for the name of the candy in the jar.
I also thought writing "Hershey's Kisses" would be boring, so I replaced it with "Vampire Kisses". Very fun! I can't wait until I present the entire buffet here.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Starting on the decor
Another thing I love about parties are decorations! I have the tendency to go overboard with decorations and my Twilight themed party will be no exception! What I love about the Twilight theme is that it has standard, easy to match colors: black, red and white.
I took advantage of the after-Christmas sales and was able to snag great deals on some decorations for the party.
The big clear and red jewels were on sale for $1.50 per pack. I ended up buying two since they were such a great deal. The other bag with the small gems were not on sale and are $4. I bought these all from Michael's. These gems will go great with the candy buffet as well as the table with the favors.
I walked around the store and found the clearance section at the end of the aisles. Amazingly they still had great stuff for me to use!
I found this white gem garland on sale for $3! I thought it would be a perfect addition to the decor since the Cullens sparkle when under the sun in Twilight. I also bought a red beaded garland (not pictured) for the same price. Amazing what you can find at the clearance section!
Since Twilight is basically a love story, I thought it would be great to add in some hearts or some romance related items for the decor.
I bought this box of sparkled hearts at Target for $5. I love the detail on the hearts because they're decorated with white frost. They're so adorable and I'm glad I got them when I did because now I can't find them at my local Target.
I must admit finding individual chess pieces is HARD. It took 3 days of research and comparing prices for the white queen and red pawn pieces. Most of the places I found sold individual pieces for the queens and kings, but not the other pieces. I also must add that a lot of stores were selling individual wood pieces, not plastic.
I was able to contact a company who sold the plastic white queen for a reasonable price. They also sold the red chess set but I didn't want to buy the entire set just to get the red pawn. I called the store to see if they would be willing to sell me these 2 pieces and they were! I was able to get these pieces for about $7. Luckily I was able to get it for this price, as I saw someone selling the exact same pieces on Ebay for $15.
Well I got these pieces because they will be a part of the cake! My baker highly suggested that I get real chess pieces. Not only to save her time and save me money, but it'll look much better on the cake.
I have more decor to post, but I don't want to spoil the whole event with all the things I have. But I couldn't help but allow a quick sneek peek :)
I took advantage of the after-Christmas sales and was able to snag great deals on some decorations for the party.
The big clear and red jewels were on sale for $1.50 per pack. I ended up buying two since they were such a great deal. The other bag with the small gems were not on sale and are $4. I bought these all from Michael's. These gems will go great with the candy buffet as well as the table with the favors.
I walked around the store and found the clearance section at the end of the aisles. Amazingly they still had great stuff for me to use!
I found this white gem garland on sale for $3! I thought it would be a perfect addition to the decor since the Cullens sparkle when under the sun in Twilight. I also bought a red beaded garland (not pictured) for the same price. Amazing what you can find at the clearance section!
Since Twilight is basically a love story, I thought it would be great to add in some hearts or some romance related items for the decor.
I bought this box of sparkled hearts at Target for $5. I love the detail on the hearts because they're decorated with white frost. They're so adorable and I'm glad I got them when I did because now I can't find them at my local Target.
I must admit finding individual chess pieces is HARD. It took 3 days of research and comparing prices for the white queen and red pawn pieces. Most of the places I found sold individual pieces for the queens and kings, but not the other pieces. I also must add that a lot of stores were selling individual wood pieces, not plastic.
I was able to contact a company who sold the plastic white queen for a reasonable price. They also sold the red chess set but I didn't want to buy the entire set just to get the red pawn. I called the store to see if they would be willing to sell me these 2 pieces and they were! I was able to get these pieces for about $7. Luckily I was able to get it for this price, as I saw someone selling the exact same pieces on Ebay for $15.Well I got these pieces because they will be a part of the cake! My baker highly suggested that I get real chess pieces. Not only to save her time and save me money, but it'll look much better on the cake.
I have more decor to post, but I don't want to spoil the whole event with all the things I have. But I couldn't help but allow a quick sneek peek :)
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
(Photo credit: Party Starters)
So I was browsing through Etsy (I LOVE handmade things!) and happen to stumble across Party Starters.
They make these absolutely cute favor cake slices. I'm not sure if they are a first of its kind, but I'm sure I've never seen them EVER! Although they incorporated a Jacob theme for the Twilight favors (I also love how they cut parts of the book on the toppers!), I asked for a red box and black & white damask print top. I received a sample photo today and I am in love! I can't wait to put these out with my candy buffet. This will surely be a hit at my party!
They make these absolutely cute favor cake slices. I'm not sure if they are a first of its kind, but I'm sure I've never seen them EVER! Although they incorporated a Jacob theme for the Twilight favors (I also love how they cut parts of the book on the toppers!), I asked for a red box and black & white damask print top. I received a sample photo today and I am in love! I can't wait to put these out with my candy buffet. This will surely be a hit at my party!
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
So the planning begins!
Greetings! I've decided to create a blog to trace the steps of my birthday party planning. I'm turning 30 this year and decided to have a Twilight themed party! I'm very much a huge Twilight fan (just like many of the females or TwiMom's out there!) and although I've thrown 'themed' birthday parties, they were more for my children rather than myself.
I did a lot of research on Twilight themed parties and they looked SO much fun! Not only for the person throwing it but it seemed that the attendees were just as excited as well. I've already begun purchasing decorations and now am working on the details of the party.
The party will be very intimate, meaning it's not a "huge" birthday bash. I just want to celebrate with my family and friends and didn't want to have a huge fiasco about me turning 30 (haha). My 9-year old daughter also loves Twilight and I'm sure she'll have fun helping me organize this celebration.
I did a lot of research on Twilight themed parties and they looked SO much fun! Not only for the person throwing it but it seemed that the attendees were just as excited as well. I've already begun purchasing decorations and now am working on the details of the party.
The party will be very intimate, meaning it's not a "huge" birthday bash. I just want to celebrate with my family and friends and didn't want to have a huge fiasco about me turning 30 (haha). My 9-year old daughter also loves Twilight and I'm sure she'll have fun helping me organize this celebration.
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